Leonard Alfred Schneider was born in Mineola, New York. His mother, Sally Marr (legal name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and dancer. His father was British. Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk who saw Lenny infrequently after he and his wife divorced before Lenny was 10.
Bruce joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during World War II aboard the USS Brooklyn (CL-40) in Northern Africa, Palermo in 1943, and Anzio, Italy, in 1944. He received a dishonorable discharge in 1945. He dressed in drag for a comedy performance in front of his shipmates. After being referred to the ship’s medical officer by his commanding officer, he defiantly convinced the doctor that he had “homosexual urges” and was discharged. He later fought the discharge and had it changed to “Under Honorable Conditions … by reason of unsuitability for the naval service.”
He served in the Merchant Marines during the Korean War.
In the 1950s he was a roommate of comedian Buddy Hackett and the pair formed a comedy duo called “Not Ready for Prime Time Players“. Bruce is best known for his edgy comedy act, an open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003.
Bruce died of acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose in 1966.
His first census was the 1930 census of Riverhead, NY.
Click on the census for a larger view.
Sources
- Wikipedia.org
- Ancestry.com
- Onthisday.com
- Picryl.com
- Youtube.com
Sources
- Wikipedia.org
- Ancestry.com
- Onthisday.com
- Picryl.com
- Youtube.com
Famous People and Their First Census 
I left a comment on Lenny Bruce but hit some key that sent it before
I gave my email. It’ll be interesting to see if anybody else leaves
comments.
Barry